Lakeland College

Lakeland aims for more postseason success

Athletics - posted on 11/5/2004

There's plenty of excitement on the Lakeland College campus about the expansion of the Todd Wehr Athletic Center, which will mean a new home for the Lakeland women's basketball team beginning in 2005-06.

But Lakeland head coach April Arvan is hoping the success the Muskies have enjoyed in their current home will be joining them in the new building.

Lakeland is 114-16 in Arvan's 10 seasons at the Wehr Center, including an eye-opening 84-7 in the last seven seasons. It's no wonder the Muskies have made four trips to the NCAA Tournament in the past six seasons, and won six of the last seven Lake Michigan Conference championships.

"We're looking forward to our new facility, but we have a job to do this year," Arvan said. "We're going to do the best job we can to close out the Wehr Center tradition well. It's been very good to us."

The Muskies are in a solid position to keep the strong tradition going, although they'll have to overcome some major losses from last season.

Casey Thousand and Aubri Rote, a pair of first team all-LMC performers, have moved on, Thousand to graduation and Rote (the LMC Rookie of the Year) to a roster spot at Division I UW-Milwaukee.

"Between Casey's offense and great defensive play and Aubri's offensive production I think we're losing about 30-40 points per game," Arvan said. "Those are some of the questions we need to answer."

One big answer is Lakeland's inside game, led by 6-foot senior Renee Steinert (Howards Grove), a first team all-LMC pick a year ago and a Player of the Year-caliber athlete. She averaged 14.2 points and 7.9 rebounds last season as a junior.

"Renee is the best true center we've had since I've been head coach here," Arvan said. "She's the finest solid anchor we've had in the middle that's extremely consistent."

Sophomore Jenna Boehm, a 5-11 forward from Green Bay, returns after a debut season where she averaged 8.8 points and 6.4 rebounds, earning honorable mention all-LMC and all-rookie team honors.

"Renee and Jenna make a great combination since they've been able to work together for a full year," Arvan said. "We finally have a true 4 and 5 inside presence. They've been wonderful post buddies and they know what to expect from each other."

Lakeland will be looking for big things from senior point guard Kristi Thill (Garden, Mich.), who was slowed last season by a stress fracture of her shin after earning LMC Rookie of the Year as a freshman and all-conference as sophomore.

"She's a well-rounded point guard," Arvan said. "We'll look to her leadership in that quarterback-type sense. She's a scoring point guard as well. She can hit the 3 or drive."

At the other guard spot, the Muskies look to senior Karli Nichols (Brookfield), also a point guard who started 19 of Lakeland's 28 games last season, averaging 22.5 minutes.

"She got much-needed experience under her belt," Arvan said. "I expect her to pick up some of the defensive slack of losing Casey."

The team's fourth senior, 5-7 guard Sara Langenhorst (Ripon), is also coming off junior-year injuries that limited her impact. She'll be counted on for more scoring punch this season, Arvan said.

Two juniors are expected to play larger roles this season. Beth Porter (St. Charles, Ill.), a 6-2 forward who showed flashes of solid play before tearing her ACL as a freshman, is healthy. Heather Groh (Elkhart Lake), a true forward despite being undersized at 5-7, is coming off a strong second half of the season and hopefully will pick up from where she left off.

Other returnees competing for playing time include juniors Ann Lehecka (McHenry, Ill.), Kari and Kristi Panske (Wallace, Mich.) and Danielle Duranceau (Waukesha) and sophomore Amanda Thielmann (Elkhart Lake).

The newcomers include a pair of junior transfers and four freshmen.

Connie Thousand (Barneveld), a 5-11 guard and the younger sister of Casey, averaged 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds for LMC rival Edgewood College last season. Nikki Boeckh, a 6-foot forward, played a couple of seasons at McHenry County College. Both Thousand and Boeckh are members of Lakeland's LMC championship volleyball team and have had limited time in preseason workouts.

Arvan said Brenda Paulson (Clayton), a 5-8 guard, has been the most consistent among the freshmen and will push for playing time at the shooting guard spot.

Allison Komaromy (Algonquin, Ill.) gives Lakeland another point guard. Liz Ware (Platteville) and Deanna Willard (Maple Ridge, British Columbia) will both start the season injured.

Winning another LMC title and making another trip to the NCAA Tournament are always Lakeland's goals.

"We understand how we're always on the receiving end of everybody's best game," Arvan said. "With that in perspective, we have to play as hard and as well as we can. Winning the conference and getting to the tournament are out there right away. We throw Final Four out there too sometimes. I think we should dream big."

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